Visits Left Enduring Memories In Florida

RONALD REAGAN: 1911 - 2004

Reagan Gave The Famous "Evil Empire" Speech During A 1983 Stop In Orlando.

June 6, 2004|By Etan Horowitz, Sentinel Staff Writer

Ronald Reagan made one of the most famous and explosive speeches of his presidency during a visit to Orlando in March 1983.

That's when he described the Soviet Union as the "evil empire" while addressing the National Association of Evangelicals -- sparking praise among anti-communist hard-liners and outrage among others who thought he had gone too far.

The term, which helped define Reagan's presidency, prompted a high school band to regale him with the theme from Star Wars during a trip to Epcot in 1985.

While the 1983 visit may have been his most well known, his other trips to Central Florida left lasting impressions on those who met him.

In May 1985, Reagan read an article in the Orlando Sentinel about the House of Hope, a Christian-based shelter for teenage girls, during a Memorial Day visit to Epcot. A few days later, Reagan sent the organization a check for $1,000 from his personal account, founder Sara Trollinger said.

That started a relationship with the Reagans that would span about 10 years, including a presidential visit to the House of Hope in February 1990.

"It was like a family member dying, because I had such a heart for him," Trollinger, 70, said. "He knew us at the beginning when we were small, and he was such an encouragement."

House of Hope now has 40 locations throughout the country.

Trollinger said the Rea- gans spent about five hours at the House of Hope that day, and she was so nervous that she could barely eat dinner, where she was seated between the president and his wife, Nancy. The only thing she had were Jelly Belly jelly beans, which were the president's favorite candy. Before the dinner, Trollinger had told the kids in her organization to watch someone who ate properly and mimic that person during the dinner. Little did she know that many of the children had chosen to watch her, as she put jelly beans into her mouth.

"They didn't tell me until after the dinner," said Trollinger, who exchanged letters with the Reagans for years after the visit. "But I didn't want to eat, because I wanted to spend all my time talking to the Reagans."

Maxine Nohrr sat next to Reagan at a luncheon when he visited Melbourne in 1987. Nohrr, who was then the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Greater South Brevard, remembers the president as being charismatic and making her feel important when he talked to her.

She also remembers that his food had to be tasted before he ate it.

After Reagan spoke, Nohrr presented him with an old adding machine with the words "Budget Balancer" printed on it and told him that "it only subtracts dollars."

Nohrr still has a photo of the president smiling broadly while accepting the adding machine.

"When I heard on the radio that he had died, I thought back to when I met him," Nohrr said in a phone interview from her home in Indialantic. "It's very sad that he has passed, but since he had Alzheimer's, it might be a blessing."